


(Not So) Old Friends

by yasminkhxns



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, also i miss Bill so much how could i not write her for this prompt, and thasmin are just soft oblivious idiots, because the doctor gets jealous, only a tiny bit of thasmin, thirteenth doctor fanzine prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 10:24:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18618712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yasminkhxns/pseuds/yasminkhxns
Summary: Bill’s gaydar is rarely wrong.





	(Not So) Old Friends

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my go at the 'Old Friends' prompt for the thirteenth Doctor fanzine! Don't forget to check out all the social medias for it (@thirteenfanzine on twitter and tumblr) 
> 
> How could i not write our resident space gay Bill Potts? I love and miss her so muchhhhhhh, her meeting thirteen would be an absolute dream. Give the gays what they want chiseled cheeseburger!!!

The Doctor pulled down a final lever with a wheeze and groan of her beloved ship, landing team TARDIS in the luminous woodlands of the tiny planet Yutera.

 

“Here we go fam! Told you we’d get here.. eventually.”

 

“Yeah it only took what, eight tries Doc?” Graham smirked, knowing the Doctor would respond to his teasing.

 

“Oi! I can’t help it if the old girl wants us to go somewhere else, you’ve no idea how stubborn she is, honestly.” The Doctor patted the console, which gave her an annoyed sounding groan in response.

 

 The Doctor turned to Ryan, who was leaning against one of the crystalline pillars, engrossed by his phone. “Ryan?”

 

The younger man looked up. “Yeah?”

 

“Wanna do us a favour and go find Yaz for us?” The Doctor beamed her biggest, toothiest grin at Ryan, who rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the pillar.

 

“Yeah, sure. Be back in a sec.” The Doctor watched as he hopped down the steps and disappeared into the depths of the TARDIS to find her missing companion. She turned back to the console fiddling with a few more buttons and switches, even grabbing a custard cream from the dispenser, as she and Graham waited for the two youngest companions to return.

 

What the Doctor was not expecting during her wait was for the TARDIS doors to fling open and for none other than Bill Potts to step through. “Seriously Doctor you could’ve at least waited for me! I know you wanna get back to the vault but I can’t help how pretty it is… out… there…”

 

Bill came to an abrupt halt, scanning the interior of the TARDIS, one that was clearly not the Doctor’s. As her gaze shifted from the new appearance of the console and the huge crystalline pillars surrounding it, she caught sight of a woman at the helm, and an old man who creeped up next to her. Both strangers looked shocked, however the man’s expression feigned more on confusion, whereas the woman was making no effort to hide the sadness in her eyes.

 

“Ok what the hell is going on here because this looked like the TARDIS from the outside, but it can’t be. Are one of you like, another Time Lord or something?” Bill pointed between the two accusingly.

 

The woman was the first to finally speak up, her voice barely a whisper. “Bill..”

 

“How do you know my name? Who are you?”

 

It was then that the supposed stranger pulled a familiar yet different object out of her inside pocket, pressing the button down on it, making a whirring noise echo through the console room.

 

“Doctor?”

 

The Doctor gave Bill a small smile and nodded, slowly making her way around the console to her old companion, who was looking extremely surprised to say the least.

 

“Wow. When you said about regenerating you weren’t kidding huh?”

 

The Doctor let out a low chuckle, her eyes glassy. She hadn’t quite comprehended just how much she had missed Bill until she was stood in front of her once more. “Come here.”

 

 She engulfed the young woman in her arms who tensed for a moment, not used to the Doctor giving hugs but quickly reciprocated, making the most of the uncommon gesture. The Doctor finally pulled away, still holding onto Bill’s shoulders.

 

“I’m a hugger now! Bet you never would’ve thought! I know the last me was a bit grumpy when it came to them.”

 

Before Bill could reply, the sound of footsteps bounced around the room, announcing the return of the Doctor’s two other companions.

 

“Found her Doctor, head stuck in a book, as usual.” Ryan nudged Yaz’s shoulder who rolled her eyes in return as they made their way up the steps to main console, only to find the Doctor with a total stranger.

 

“Erm, Doctor?” The Doctor spun around to face Yaz wiping at her eye.

 

“Right! Yes! Sorry gang.” She moved to the side. “Fam, this a Bill.” The young woman waved.  “A companion of mine, well Scottish me, so still technically me, quite confusing actually I-”

 

“Doc!”

 

“Whoops went off on one again didn’t I?” The Doctor scrunched her face when her team nodded in agreement. The Doctor placed her hand on Bill’s back and pushed her forward so that they were in line.

 

“Bill, this Ryan, Graham.. and Yaz.” The Doctor’s gaze softening when it landed on the young police officer. All of the team greeted Bill in return, however Bill’s eyes stayed fix on Yaz. Yaz, who was _very_ attractive, and wearing _that_ leather jacket and _those_ boots, and setting Bill’s gaydar off.

 

Bill waltzed over to the other woman and leant against the TARDIS console that warmed against her touch making her smile. “So, Yaz huh? What’s that short for?” she smirked.

 

“Yeah, its short for Yasmin, my mates call me Yaz.”

 

“So can I still call you Yaz?”

 

Yaz smiled softly, looking Bill up and down. “Yeah. Yeah you can.”

 

_Definitely not straight._

Bill crossed her arms and pointed at Yaz’s hair. “Love the way you do your hair, it’s really pretty.” Yaz ran her fingers through the hair that was tied up into space buns and looked down at the floor for a moment as her cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment.

 

“Th.. thanks, it was really difficult to do at first but it’s kind of like second nature now.” Yaz changed the subject from herself before she got too flustered. “So, what do you do when you’re not travelling with the Doctor? Your Doctor, I mean. I guess?” she chuckled, the whole situation was pretty confusing.

 

“I work in the canteen at the uni the Doctor lectures at. He’s-”

 

Yaz held out her hand. “Wait. Wait. The Doctor lectures? At a uni? Seriously?”

 

Bill couldn’t help but laugh at Yaz’s reaction. “Yep! Great lectures actually, but it’s not really surprising with the way they can ramble on. But anyway, yeah he’s kind of like my unofficial tutor until I properly apply next year. What about you?”

 

“Police officer.” Yaz beamed, always proud of where she’d managed to get.

 

_Oh. Now that was a pleasant image._

Bill smirked. “Hm. I like a girl uniform.”

 

Yaz attempted to stutter out a reply at Bill’s remark to no avail, cheeks turning redder by the second.

 

While the flirtation transpired between the two women, the Doctor strode over to the boys and spoke in a hushed tone.

 

“Right, hang on. What’s going on over there?”

 

Graham huffed. “Well it’s pretty obvious Doc.”

 

“Yeah, your mate Bill is flirting with Yaz, who by the way, is being a right disaster. Girl’s got no game.” Ryan shook his head.

 

The Doctor’s head kept flitting back and forth between the boys, and Bill and Yaz. It almost made Ryan dizzy.

 

“What? Wait.. what? No, this isn’t supposed to be happening.” The Doctor grabbed Ryan’s upper arms, “Why is this happening?”

 

Ryan let out a chuckle as he grabbed the Doctor’s hands and removed them from his arms. “Why, what’s the matter Doctor? You jealous?”

 

The Doctor went stiff, her mouth tight lipped. She looked back over her shoulder at the girls, Bill’s hand was running down Yaz’s arm. She could almost see green. She whipped back round to face Ryan.

 

“No.”

 

“You sure about that?”

 

“Positive.”

 

Ryan and Graham shared a look, clearly finding her response hard to believe.

 

The Doctor stormed over to Bill and Yaz, ignoring the quiet protests of the two men and plastered on her biggest grin. “Getting on swimmingly I see?”

 

“Yeah. You seem to make a habit of picking up pretty girls Doctor.” Bill’s gaze fell to Yaz when she spoke, who looked down at the floor again, not used to so many flirtatious compliments. The Doctor’s smile dropped for a second, and Bill noticed.

 

“Great. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Wouldn’t it terrible it if you didn’t get along. It would wouldn’t it boys?” They shrugged in assumed agreement. “Ah yes. See? Yes it would. Still can’t believe you’re here Bill, amazing! Absolutely amazing.”

 

Bill noticed that the Doctor was off, from the way her smile dropped to the weirder than usual ramble. Even the energy radiating off her was strange. She mouthed to the Doctor’s new team that she would be a moment, before turning to the Doctor who had made her way over to the other side of the console. “Doctor! Can I talk to you for a sec? Just you.”

 

The Doctor looked to her team, who seemed unfazed, then back to Bill. “Of course.”

 

Bill rounded the console and grabbed the Doctor by the forearm and dragged her over to the edge of the room, out of earshot of her other companions. The Doctor raised her eyebrows in anticipation.

 

“So. Yaz huh?” Bill smirked.

 

The Doctor straightened up in response, shoving her hands into her trouser pockets. Immediately on the defensive.

 

“What about her?”

 

Bill laughed. “Oh come off it Doctor! Don’t think I didn’t see you keep looking over when I was flirting with Yaz. Or how your smile dropped. _Or_ your extra weird ramble.”

 

“I-” Bill cut the Doctor off before she could get a word in.

 

“Don’t try to deny it, this face is much easier to read than your old one. Much prettier too.” Bill said while very unashamedly checking the Doctor out.

 

The Doctor scoffed and yanked her hands out of her pockets, arms flailing everywhere. “Bill! I’m your sort of professor. Basically space Grandad! Wait, Grandma?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, but still you can’t.. you can’t _do_ that!!”

 

Bill couldn’t contain her laughter at the Doctor’s reaction. She’s never seen the alien so flustered. “Alright! Alright! But seriously, don’t deny it.”

 

The Doctor’s eyes flicked over to Yaz for a moment, she sighed in defeat. “Fine. Yes. I may harbour, some.. feelings for Yaz.” It was the first time the Doctor had admitted it out loud, the words feeling strange as they slipped off her tongue.

 

“It’s weird you know?”

 

The Doctor was suddenly confused. “What is?”

 

“You.” Bill poked the Doctor’s chest. “Having feelings.”

 

“Oi! I always had feelings. Just, this body’s very different. It feels a lot more. The face is like play-doh.” The Doctor pinched her own cheek.

 

‘Yeah, I _bet_ you feel more.’ Bill smirked again as she looked the Doctor up and down for a second time.

 

“BILL.”

 

Bill put her hands up in surrender. “Sorry! Sorry. But you can’t blame me. Serious upgrade Doctor. In all seriousness, you are very pretty.”

 

The Doctor’s cheeks flushed at the compliment. She patted Bill on the back, guiding her back over to the rest of her companions.

 

“Right! Well. You best be getting back to him now. Well me. Well, never mind. He’ll be wondering where you’ve got to!”

 

Bill looked up at the Doctor, glad she didn’t have to strain her neck so much now that they were considerably shorter. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She turned to look at the team. “It was really nice to meet you all. Look after her yeah?” Bill nodded her head towards the Doctor. Yaz was the one to respond.

 

“Always.” She gave the Doctor a soft smile, one that was happily returned.

 

Bill waved back at the three companions as the Doctor led her to the TARDIS doors, opening them for her old friend. Bill stepped out and turned to the Doctor, hands in the pockets of her denim jacket, suddenly looking slightly anxious.

 

“I have to ask, if you’re after him, what happened to me?”

 

The question tore up the Doctor inside, knowing she couldn’t tell her friend the truth of her fate. Praying that she managed to cover up any sadness that may have shown on her face she responded the best way she knew how.

 

“Don’t forget Bill. I’m old. Really old. It’s been a very long time since you travelled on this TARDIS, and I miss you every day you’re not here.” The Doctor gave Bill a sad smile unable to hold all her emotions in.

 

Bill looked down at the floor for a moment, before shifting her gaze back to the Doctor’s face. “I understand.” And the Doctor could see in Bill’s eyes that she did. She did understand, Bill was smart, there was a reason the Doctor took her under her wing.

 

The Doctor engulfed the woman in another hug, so that she could hide the look on her face, but also because she did miss Bill every day, and wasn’t going to take this unexpected and undoubtedly final meeting for granted. The Doctor gave Bill a final squeeze before letting go.

 

“Off you go then, go enjoy some more adventures with me.”

 

Bill grinned at that. “Oh I will! Bye Doctor.”

 

“Goodbye Bill.” The young woman started to make her way back into the woodlands to find her TARDIS when the Doctor called out her.

 

“Oh and Bill?”

 

Bill turned. “Yeah?”

 

The Doctor smiled at her for the final time.

 

“Be careful.”

**Author's Note:**

> btw this ended up being so much longer than i anticipated and i'm still not sure how i feel about it. I did struggle a lot writing this and i don't know whether its because i'm not used to writing Bill or something else but whatever. I hope you guys thought it was ok!
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


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